West Ham vs Arsenal: Arsene Wenger reveals team selection plans ahead of London derby

Arsene Wenger has indicated that he is likely to field the same starting XI that beat Watford 4-0 last Saturday (2 April) when Arsenal visit West Ham United this weekend. The Gunners travel to the Boleyn Ground to face the Hammers in what is a crucial clash for both the teams in terms of the race for the title and a place in the Champions League next season.

The north London club are hoping to catch Leicester City in the title race, while Slaven Bilic's team are battling the two Manchester clubs for a place in the top four of the Premier League. The French manager, however, believes Arsenal should also be wary about the teams behind them on the table going into the final stretch of the 2015/16 campaign.

The Emirates Stadium outfit are unbeaten in their last three league games, which includes two convincing wins over Everton and Watford and the manager is keen to continue the momentum into the final seven games of the season. Mohamed Elneny has formed a strong partnership with Francis Coquelin at the heart of the midfield, while Gabriel Paulista and Laurent Koscielny have prospered at the back keeping two clean sheets in the last two games. Even Alex Iwobi, who made his first-team breakthrough this season, has formed a good understanding with Danny Welbeck and Alexis Sanchez.

Wenger believes the team has found a good balance and understanding in the last couple of games, which means Per Mertesacker, Olivier Giroud, Theo Walcott and Joel Campbell are set to feature on the bench yet again when the Gunners take on West Ham United in a lunch time kick-off on Saturday (9 April).

"I'm always reluctant to change what works. It is down to the confidence gained from our last two games. Team play has improved in those games and our game is based on mobility, speed and technique. We have found a good balance in our game," Wenger said, as quoted by Arsenal's official site.

"We know that we need nearly the perfect run and we know as well that we don't look only in front of us, we look behind us as well. We are chased by a group of teams who can make it very difficult for us so we have just to focus on our performance and hope we finish [the season] in a very strong way.

"As long as it's mathematically possible, there's a strong possibility [Arsenal can catch Leicester]. You look at the difficulty of the Premier League and they have been very consistent but every game is very, very tight. That can go the other way," the French manager added.